CNN
By Devon M. Sayers, Pete Muntean, Dianne Gallagher, CNN
STATESVILLE, NC (CNN) — Six people have died after a small private jet crashed shortly after takeoff in Statesville, North Carolina, a source briefed on the crash tells CNN.
The crash happened shortly after 10:15 a.m., Iredell County Chief Deputy Bill Hamby told CNN.
Preliminary information indicates the six people killed in the crash — were a pilot and five others — a source briefed on the crash tells CNN. A federal source with knowledge of the crash tells CNN a person associated with NASCAR was on board the plane that crashed.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein said news of the crash was “heartbreaking. “Our hearts go out to those families,” Stein said adding there was no more tragic way to start the holiday season.
“A Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina around 10:20 a.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 18. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide any updates,” the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN.
A witness who works at the airport told CNN she saw the plane on fire after the crash.
“My desk faces where it happened. I was just sitting here, and then I heard a loud boom, and our hangar shook a little. I got up to look and that’s when I saw the flames and fire everywhere,” said Victoria, who works for an aviation company and asked to be identified only by her first name due to privacy concerns.
The NTSB investigating the crash is expected to arrive later tonight and hold a media briefing tomorrow, according to a post on X.
At a short news conference this afternoon, local authorities shared little information about the crash. We have “no information on any cause,” said airport manager John Ferguson.
Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, is an uncontrolled airport with no control tower. Pilots are required to self-report their position on and near the airport using a common radio frequency.
The airport remains closed, according to the airport manager.
Emergency crews were still on the runway near the crash site shortly after 1:30 p.m., a CNN team observed.
Preliminary flight tracking data shows a Cessna Citation 550 left Statesville Regional Airport around 10 a.m. from runway 10, traveled about five miles, then made a near-immediate left turn back toward the airport. The plane did not climb higher than 2,000 feet, according to FlightAware.
Low clouds, light rain, and visibility of less than three miles were reported about 80 minutes after the crash, according to an automated weather station at the airport. It is not clear if these conditions were present when the plane crashed.
“The Statesville Regional Airport provides corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams,” according to the city website.
CNN’s Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.
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By The Associated Press
Tennessee’s governor pardoned country star Jelly Roll on Thursday for his criminal past in the state, acknowledging the Nashville native’s long road back from drugs and prison through soul-searching, songwriting and advocacy for second chances.
The rapper-turned-singer whose legal name is Jason Deford has spoken for years about his redemption arc before diverse audiences, from people serving time in correctional centers to concert crowds and even in testimony before Congress.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee issued his pardon after friends and civic leaders of the Grammy-nominated musician joined in an outpouring of support.
Jelly Roll’s convictions include robbery and drug felonies. He has said a pardon would make it easier for him to travel internationally for concert tours and to perform Christian missionary work without requiring burdensome paperwork.
He was one of 33 people to receive pardons Thursday from Lee, who for years has issued clemency decisions around the Christmas season. Lee said Jelly Roll’s application underwent the same monthslong thorough review as other applicants. The state parole board gave a nonbinding, unanimous recommendation for Jelly Roll’s pardon in April.
“His story is remarkable, and it’s a redemptive, powerful story, which is what you look for and what you hope for,” Lee told reporters, adding he hopes to meet Jelly Roll for the first time soon.
Unlike recent high-profile federal pardons, which let people off the hook for prison, a pardon in Tennessee serves as a statement of forgiveness for someone who has already completed a prison sentence and been released. Pardons offer a path to get certain civil rights restored, such as the right to vote, although there are some limitations under state law, and the governor can specify the terms.
Jelly Roll broke into country music with the 2023 album “Whitsitt Chapel” and crossover songs like “Need a Favor.” He has won multiple CMT Awards, a CMA Award and also picked up seven career Grammy nominations, three of them recently.
Much of his work has become associated with overcoming adversity, like the song “Winning Streak” that tells the story of someone’s first day sober. Or the direct-and-to-the-point, “I Am Not Okay.”
“When I first started doing this, I was just telling my story of my broken self,” he told The Associated Press in a recent interview. “By the time I got through it, I realized that my story was the story of many. So now I’m not telling my story anymore. I’m getting to pull it right from the crevices of the people whose story’s never been told.”
In making his case to the parole board, Jelly Roll said he first fell in love with songwriting while in custody, stating it began as a therapeutic passion project that “would end up changing my life in ways that I never dreamed imaginable.”
Beyond his sold-out shows, he’s brought his witness to the US Senate, where he testified about the dangers of fentanyl, describing his drug-dealing younger self as “the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist wi